Articles Tagged Road Test

The new Audio-Technica System 10 PRO digital wireless system (not to be confused with the System 10, released a couple of years ago) offers numerous advanced features, including dual channel units, the ability to remotely locate the receivers/antennas, rack-mounting, and a total of 10 units that can be used together. A durable metal body, half-rack-sized chassis unit can house two receiver units, and the receivers can also be located up to 328 feet away from the chassis, linked via standard…
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The QSC TouchMix compact mixer series caught my attention from the moment it was introduced. The control surface is without physical faders – inputs and adjustments are accomplished via the large (6.1 x 3.5 inch) color TFT touch screen and rotary knob on the surface, or wirelessly via a tablet running the TouchMix app. And it’s been designed to meet the needs of both novice and experienced users. The company recently sent me the 16-channel model, appropriately named the TouchMix-16,…
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A top touring company in the U.S. is currently evaluating TDA (Time Domain Analysis), the first of its kind loudspeaker analysis software that provides access to loudspeaker and sound reinforcement system parameters that have been unobtainable—until now. And we’ll soon be presenting the touring company’s report on this new tool here as a Road Test review. In the meantime, more about TDA software: Proprietary technology and new time domain analysis algorithms means that a sweep can be done in a…
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If you need a class compliant sound pressure level (SPL) monitoring and logging system or just want a great way to keep track of SPL at gigs—keep reading. SG Audio of Denmark has developed an SPL measurement system called 10EaZy, and the folks at their exclusive U.S. distributor, Rational Acoustics, were “Smaart” enough (see what I did there) to send me a system for review. SG Audio offers measurement systems designed to meet the needs of those who require IEC/ANSI…
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The Radial Engineering PZ-DI active direct box provides several features that come in very handy if you work with piezo-equipped instruments, and it can also be used in any application where a quality DI is needed. The PZ-DI incorporates a proprietary analog circuit with low-noise FET op-amp, and has a stated frequency response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz with total harmonic distortion less than 0.02 percent. The enclosure has the standard “book-end” shape found with most Radial DI boxes,…
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The recently introduced Cerwin-Vega! P-Series is comprised (so far) of two boxes, the P1500X full-range powered loudspeaker and the P1800SX powered subwoofer. The two can be utilized separately or together, and are designed for portable and installed applications. The P1500X is a 2-way, bi-amped loudspeaker in a bass-reflex enclosure, incorporating a 1.75-inch-diaphragm (1-inch-exit) compression driver joined by a 15-inch woofer. The class D amplifier is rated as delivering 540 watts continuous and 1,500 watts dynamic. Frequency response is stated as…
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Countryman is well known for the Type 85 DI box, and I’ve seen more than a few riders where a DI is simply referred to as a “Countryman.” I have several Type 85s in my inventory, and have been looking forward to getting the newer Type 10S to the bench for a listen. An active box, it’s built as ruggedly as the Type 85, with a solid aluminum casing that can stand up to anything a tour or crew can…
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After hearing a lot of great things about the Shure KSM9HS, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on one to try out. It’s a handheld vocal condenser (electret-biased) microphone with dual diaphragms and switchable polar patterns – hypercardioid and subcardioid – that can be selected via a switch located under the removable grill. The KSM9HS includes dual 3/4-in, gold-layered, low-mass Mylar diaphragms, a Class A discrete transformerless preamplifier, advanced suspension shock mount system for the cartridge, a 3-stage grill…
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The new Mackie DLM loudspeaker series is made up of DLM8 (8-in) and DLM12 (12-in) 2-way models joined by the DLM12S (12-in) subwoofer. Both 2-way models incorporate a Class D amplifier that provides up to 2,000 watts (peak) of acoustic power to a new transducer design that Mackie calls TruSource Technology, optimized by onboard digital processing. TruSource incorporates the woofer with a 1.75-in compression driver in a coaxial configuration. It’s a unique take, using a newly developed single compact common-magnet…
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Audio-Technica’s first entry into digital wireless was SpectraPulse, a specialized system for secure conferencing applications. Now with the new System 10, A-T has brought digital wireless into a simple format at popular price points. System 10 is not a professional touring wireless microphone system, like the company’s 4000 and 5000 Series, yet it implements some impressive technology in an easy-to-use package. The system sounds good and contains a variety of integral features that solve common wireless performance and coordination problems.…
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